Time to rethink your marriage? Namita Thapar, Shark Tank India Investor, bold advice to professionals working 70 hours a week

Namita Thapar, Shark Tank India Investor and Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals - has sparked a major discussion on work-life balance. She recently commented on the long working schedules of the professionals which evoked varied reactions, praise and controversy both across social media platforms. The observations about the balance or lack of balance between professional aspirations and relationships have proven to be an opinion that many are labelling as thought-provoking.

Recently, Namita Thapar in an interview with Humans of Bombay highlighted the effects of long working hours on mental health and family life. Her advice, especially to those who work 70-hour weeks, was so straightforward where she highlighted ‘professionals with these hectic schedules might have to re-think marriage and parenting’.
She described the burden of working professionals who work for long hours strongly emphasising that such long weeks not only impact their health but also affect their family bonds or relationships. Namita Thapar stated, “70 hours a week and then you are putting in another 30-40 hours a week. The rest of the time, you have to get a little bit of sleep.". At what time are you going to give your little baby or even a spouse who decided to be a homemaker the time to take care of the baby?"
She continuously stresses upon the need to be available for one’s family, "Then just spare them the misery and the mental health issues of having an absent parent." What is striking in this opinion is that it supports her view that while high-stakes careers can demand such time investments, common employees in general should not be subject to such grueling schedules without incurring personal costs.
Thapar's objections to work-life balance are not limited to senior professionals. She also spoke to the general topic of long hours in standard employment environments, challenging businesses to put in place fair work limits. She said, "For people where the stakes are high, yes. But for common employees, have a reasonable work limit knowing that there will be some blips, deliverables. But it cannot be a constant 70-hour workweek, which is what a lot of people are proposing."
Thapar's plea for a more rational work hour approach is an acknowledgment that a good work-life balance must be adhered to not just by executives, but by all workers. Long working hours, she feels, should no longer be the rule, and businesses must do their best to provide settings in which employees can both excel both professionally and personally.

Namita’s remarks have provoked many heated discussions, with varying responses. Her practical handling of work-life balance has resonated with those who believe the assumption that there is more work to be done is harmful to families and individual health. Many people agreed with Namita Thapar’s advice that long work hours put both members of a marriage at a disadvantage in pursuing careers. Critics responded that the demands perpetuate outdated perceptions of the old single-income family model. Most of them highlighted the need for parents to be around in a child's life, claiming that children are better off with the direct intervention of their parents rather than being dependent on grandparents or external caregivers.
Against this background, Thapar's appeal for professionals to rethink work schedules found traction with a considerable majority of parents, particularly those who cared about the emotional health of children brought up with not enough time from their parents. Some even asked if her argument would lead to the idea that professionals with challenging jobs—like nurses—must forgo children because their work schedules are unpredictable. Others took issue with the idea that a choice must be made between career success and family life, insisting that a balance could be achieved where both could exist without compelling people to make unpalatable choices.

The debate initiated by Namita Thapar's comments reflects a strong divide regarding what a balanced work-life would look like. While some do believe in selecting careers where there could be a better balance of working and being involved in family life, others feel that this is not as important as careers. They would say professional success should not be paid for in terms of emotional abandonment or absence within family life.
On the other hand, there are those who believe that career success requires personal sacrifices, especially in high-pressure industries where long hours are the norm. The controversy reveals the necessity of a wider cultural transformation—one that defies conventional expectations of excess work and affirms policies that value both professional success and domestic happiness. Ultimately, the question lingers: Can we really have it all, or will we need to define success differently so that it works for both career and family?
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